Because cats
by Vanilla Battenburg
Summary: A distraught Heracles appeals to his friend Kiku for help when one of his beloved cats goes missing. At the same time, Kiku is trying to find a way to tell his friend about his feelings for him.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Okay, this is my first fanfic ever, so please don't bite my head off when it all goes wahoonie-shaped...**

The front door shut with a quiet click and Kiku slumped against it. The Japanese man was vaguely aware of his briefcase falling from his hand as he closed his eyes and sighed, a deep, long sigh of relief. He sank to a kneeling position, allowing his tired muscles to relax. What a day.

He didn't particularly hate World Meetings, per say. In fact, he quite liked being around the others. It made him feel included. Welcomed. It's just that when your alarm clock goes off one and a half hours later than it should have because of a late night power cut, you haven't had time for breakfast and you get stuck in morning traffic, you don't really want to be faced with an army of rowdy countries arguing about global warming.

Which leads to an argument about superheroes.

Which leads to an argument about the Boston Tea Party.

Which leads to Francis telling everyone to love each other.

Which leads to a fight.

Which leads to disruption.

Which leads to Ludwig yelling.

Which leads to Feliciano squeaking about pasta.

Which leads to national bemusement.

Which leads to the whole cycle starting again.

On top of that, Gilbert Beilschmidt, that Prussian hooligan, had for some reason decided that it would be a good idea to come and sit by him and shout in his ear for the entire meeting. Well, okay, maybe not the _entire_ meeting. After the lunch break, he had somehow managed to smuggle a crate of beer under the table, then proceeded to get roaring drunk then went of to harass Elizebeta. But there was no peace, as by that time Ludwig was shouting again. So loud. So very very loud.

Kiku opened his eyes, sat still for a second, and then went to feed his cat before he went to bed. As he opened the tin of cat food, he wondered, ' _...why are they all so loud? I know they can all be quiet when they want to, so why don't they? It would make everyone's lives so much easier if they just talked things over quietly, like civilised beings... Either they're shrieking that they hate each other or they're whimpering that they're scared...If only they could be quiet, and appreciate life more, like me and Heracles-san...'_

Heracles!

He hadn't been at the meeting. Kiku realised this and immediately felt bad. How could he not have missed him? Sure, the Greek was usually snoozing in a sunny corner with about five cats on his lap, not paying any attention to what was being said whatsoever, but never had Kiku known him miss a meeting. Not even when the host country was Matthew Williams, who represented Canada, and that time most countries forgot either to go, or where the meeting was being held.

Kiku's thoughts were disturbed by a yowl of impatience, and a scratching at his left ankle. He looked down at the sweet little sandy brown cat who had her pink mouth wide open in a silent plea for food. He smiled gently down at her, and leaned down to put the food in her bowl.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. " Did I forget about you?" She looked at him solemnly for a moment before smashing her face down into her food. Kiku straightened, chuckling at how cute she was. Heracles had given her to him three months ago. Kiku had been a little embarrassed at not having a gift to give back and had asked why he had been given her. After all, considering all the cats that Heraclese had at home, one more cat wouldn't kill him. But he had just shrugged slowly and replied, with that lazy smile of his,

"You look cute together." This caused a blush like a splatter of crushed strawberries to appear on Kiku's face, and he had not questioned further. He had accepted the gift, and had called the cat Hitomi, because of her beautiful eyes. She really did have beautiful, big, shiny green eyes...

Just like Heracles.

Another reason he felt guilty and ashamed for not noticing the distinct lack of Greek in the World Meeting. He and Heracles had been firm friends for a while, mainly due to, aside from the obvious reason of cats, their love of quietness and peace. They would usually sit in a corner together, with the Japanese man listening and taking notes for the other, who slept. It was quite a nice arrangement. However, recently, over the past six months or so, Kiku had been...noticing things.

The way Heracles' hair shone in the sunlight. The way his muscles rippled on his arms when he moved, from all that digging in his mother's ruins. The soft lilt of his voice. Things like that.

Kiku was not the sort to succumb to denial. He always tried to be as honest with himself as possible, but even so, he tried to brush it of as simple appreciation of his friend at first. Eventually though, he had to admit that it wasn't, and that he was well and truly falling for the lazy, easygoing Greek. Maybe he was even...in love? On the day he had thought that, he had pondered it for a while, turning the phrase over and over in his head before allowing himself a small smile. '_Yes,' _he thought._ 'I am in love.'_

Of course, it was one thing to admit it to himself, and have that warm glow-y feeling he seemed to get whenever he thought about Heracles, but quite another to confess to the man himself. Of course,

the Japanese advocate romance as much as they advocate breathing, what with Valentines Day being so important, and Christmas being a time for couples, so Kiku felt quite embarrassed that he had no idea how to tell his crush that he loved him. Every time he was about to say it, to tell him how he felt, something stopped him. Maybe it was the fact that he was not used to voicing his thoughts. Or maybe he was scared of rejection. Or maybe both. He just didn't know how to say it. He had reasoned that, since he didn't know, asking someone (not Francis) would be the best way to go about it. Unfortunately when he decided that, the only person around was Vash, so asking about romance resulted in a Swiss gun being pointed at his head and a thorough interrogation about Kiku's intentions towards Lilli. So for the past six months, he had just been holding it in. Something he was used to.

Kiku turned away from the now full cat who was now stretching out to sleep, and went towards his bedroom, pushing down the shame at not having noticed that his crush hadn't been at the meeting. He'd phone him tomorrow and ask, yes, that's what he would do. But for now, bed. He was too tired to eat, although his stomach growled with hunger. He also needed a shower, but all those things could wait until morning. For now, he was just going to let himself relax, something he sorely needed after the day he'd just had. Kiku got changed, and went to bed. He felt himself loosen up, the tenseness that had been in his body all day falling away as he settled down under the lilac covers. He closed his eyes, and dozed...

Kiku shot up in bed at the sudden, sharp noise. He flailed around, disorientated, until he finally got a grip, and realised that someone had rung the doorbell. He looked at his alarm clock. 11:47. Who would be calling at this time of the night? If it was a drunk Italian again...

Kiku went downstairs, lighting his way with a torch that he kept on his bedside table, and switched on the light in the corridor. He looked in the wide, oriental mirror that hung just to the right of the door, smoothed down a piece of misbehaving hair, and opened the door.

There, in front of him, stood a very dishevelled looking Heracles, who had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his head tilted towards the ground. Kiku looked closer. He saw that the Greek's clothes, which were usually a little scruffy, were now positively messy, with the buttons of the jacket he had put on to keep out the cold all done up wrong. That wasn't right. Heracles may have been slow, almost to the point of stopping, but he did tend to notice little things like that and correct them.

And there...under his eyes...were those dark circles? From lack of sleep!? But this was Heracles, he was the very definition of sleep! How could he...

Kiku looked at the Greek, realising that he had been caught staring. He blushed furiously, giving himself a mental ticking off, and told himself that Heracles was his guest and he shouldn't forget his manners.

"H-Heracres-san, herro, won't you come in?"

Heracles was silent for a moment, but the Japanese man, used to his ways, waited. Then the Greek slowly tilted his head up to show dull, sorrow-filled eyes which gazed at Kiku intensely. He gave a wry smile, and when he spoke, although his voice was still soft and slow, it lacked the easygoing tone that it usually had.

"Hey Kiku."

**So! Chapter one, finished! Please no derisive comments about how bad it is. Constructive criticism, however, is fine, nay, welcomed, as it will help me improve my writing in future! Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Kiku."

When Heracles said that, his voice was hollow, empty and drained. It was blindingly obvious to Kiku that something was terribly amiss. _'It must be bad,' _he thought. _'Heracles-san is usually so relaxed...I didn't think anything could upset him...Maybe he had a fight with Sadiq-san again...'._

But no, whenever he fought with the aggressive Turk, Heracles looked angry, boiling with rage, not...hopeless. Not like this.

Kiku repeated his question.

"Won't you come in?"

Heracles gave a forlorn nod, and Kiku tried to move aside to let the Greek pass. However, as the corridor was relatively small, this was difficult, and they ended up, for a fleeting moment, brushing shoulders. Heracles seemed not to notice as he continued down the hallway, but the Japanese man just stood by the door, head in turmoil. _'What just happened...?' _

Because of his rigid rules about personal space, Kiku was always awkward when people touched him. One of the reasons he liked Heracles was because the man was always respectful about his space, and never went within the boundaries. So being that close to him, for the first time ever...it was quite something. He relished it in his head for a second, committing things to memory. The sound of Heracles' breath so close to his ear. The feeling of the rock hard muscles on his arm touching his, leaner, less muscular arm. The way he smelled.

_'It's different. It's not like when others touch me. That brief contact was...nice. Like nothing I've ever felt...' _He realised that the Greek was waiting for him at the end of the corridor. He shook his head, furious with himself. '_Stop being so spacy. You're tired and it's late, but that is no excuse for bad manners. Poor Heracles-san is obviously upset, so as his friend, it is my duty to help him'_ He pushed all thoughts of romance aside and led the man into the sitting room.

Kiku, of course, always sat kneeling on a mat on the floor. However, because recently he had been experiencing 'cultural enlightenment', and more countries were visiting him often, he had installed a sofa with a couple of comfy cushions on it. He had found that many countries were uncomfortable with kneeling, and so, not wanting to be an insensitive host, he thought that a sofa was the best option. It was a lovely lilac patterned sofa, with green and white cushions. Heracles flopped down onto it and leant back in his customary relaxed pose. But other than that, he looked anything but relaxed. His fingers and feet tapped an agitated beat on the furniture and carpet. Kiku knelt down on his mat and surveyed his friend with an expression of solemnity,and tried to read the atmosphere. After about a minute of silence, he gave up. All that he could glean was Heracles was upset. He had no idea why. The Japanese man cleared his throat and opened his mouth to ask, but before he could, Heracles spoke.

"Sorry for coming here so late at night. I didn't mean to disturb you." Kiku shook his head.

"It's fine, I wasn't abre to sreep anyway. I noticed that you weren't at the meeting today." Heracles shifted slightly in his seat.

"No," he murmured. "I wasn't."

Back to silence.

Five minutes passed with nothing happening and Kiku decided that he'd had enough, and he spoke up.

"Heracres-san, I don't mean to intrude in your personar affairs, but is something the matter?" The Greek nodded slowly.

"Yeah...one of my cats went missing a week ago."

Which explained everything.

Heracles loved all of his cats as if they were his own blood relatives. His country had a massive population of stray cats, and he had about twenty in his home. Kiku had seen him around them. He treated every one as if it was the most precious thing in the world, stroking them, gently talking to them and letting them all clamber onto his lap. Occasionally one of them wandered off, but it was never for more then two days, and somehow Heracles always seemed to know that said cat would return. Kiku had never thought about what would happen if one went missing for real. Well, clearly, this.

" Which one is it? You know that Proteus rikes to spend a coupre of days away from home every so often..."

He remembered the day that they had named all of the Greek's cats. Obviously not all of the ones in his country, but the ones in his home. He'd never really thought about naming them until Kiku suggested it. It had taken them a while.

Heracles shook his head. "No," he said. "This is one you haven't met. I got her five weeks ago from a friend who didn't want her..." His voice broke."...she's only a kitten."

"You've rooked for her?" Kiku tried to ignore the tugging at his heartstrings from seeing Heracles so sorrowful.

"Yes, and I've asked around, but no one's seen her. I've been looking all day everyday ever since she vanished..."

_'Well,that explains the dark circles and his absence from the meeting.'_

"Everyone..." Heracles stopped, then tried again. "Everyone keeps telling me not to worry, that it's just a cat and that she'll turn up sometime...so I've come to you, because you understand..." Kiku saw a tear slip down the Greek's handsome face. "I love cats..." he whispered. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Heracles was crying. He was sitting there, tears streaming down his cheeks and it broke Kiku's heart to see it. '_What do I do?' _he thought frantically. '_How do I comfort him?' _He thought back to all the romance animes he'd watched. When the main girl, who is always so strong, breaks down and starts crying, what does the boy do...? '_He holds her tight and tells her that everything is going to be okay.' _All good and well in principal, but was he brave enough to try it? Kiku shifted uncomfortably. Then Heracles gave a little sniffle through his tears and it was decided. Kiku stood up, his body tingling with...a mixture of fear and excitement, it seemed, at what he was about to do. He felt light headed as he went towards the sofa. What if Heracles pushed him away? Doubtful, Maybe whilst he was holding him , he could...'_No, stop it. This is not romantic in any way. He's crying, so you have to remain calm and collected, like the guy always does in an anime...'_

He sat down next to Heracles and, after a moment, awkwardly put an arm around him. The Greek's immediate reaction was to latch onto him, pull him closer, bury his face in the surprised man's chest and cry into him in earnest. Shock rippled through the Japanese man's body. Having Heracles this close completely knocked the earlier shoulder-brush-incident out of the water. Kiku could feel the strong arms around his slim waist and...that wonderful scent he had smelled earlier...like dust and sunny days...

Trying to pull himself together, Kiku attempted to ignore the fact that the top of Heracles' head, with that wonderful soft brown hair and cute double hair curl, kept brushing his chin., and tried to comfort Heracles, who by now was sobbing into Kiku's neck. He patted the Greek's back gently.

"There now..." he murmured. "It's arr going to be okay...We 'rr find her. Okay?"

Heracles slowly raised his head to look at Kiku with despairing, tear filled eyes. Kiku couldn't help but notice how close their faces were...and how soft Heracles' lips looked...

" You' ll help me look for her?" The voice was still slow, still lazy, but now it held a tiny sliver of hope.

Kiku, resisting the strong urge to smash their faces into a kiss, did his best to smile at his friend/crush and said gently,

"Of course I wirr, Heracres-san. But it's rearry rate at night and you rook rike you need some sreep. You can take my bed and I 'rr go on the sofa. We' rr rook for her in the morning."

Heracles seemed to think on this for a second and then he put his head back on Kiku's chest. By now, however, his tears had subsided and he just let his head lie there. Kiku waited patiently (although he was embarrassed), and after a moment, Heracles spoke.

"Kiku...can I sleep with you?"

**How's that? I know, a crying Greece shouldn't exist...It's really hard trying to get the characters right...Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"...Kiku, can I sleep with you?"

Kiku stiffened immediately and, face bright red, pulled away from the Greek. How many times was he going to be forced to panic tonight? Yet again, his head reeled, trying to make sense of what the other man said. _' S-s-sleep with me? What does he...how can he...does he mean...?'_

"H-H-Heracres-san, I-I'm sorry?" Kiku stuttered. "I d-don't think I heard what you said propery..."

Heracles leant back into his usual pose, tear-tracks still clear upon his tanned skin. He spoke softly.

"Will you sleep with me?...I'm used to sleeping with my cats in my bed...It'll be lonely by myself..."

The Japanese man let out a sigh of relief. So that was what Heracles meant! For a second he had seriously thought...

He suddenly realised that he was a little disappointed that the other man _hadn't_ meant that, and felt ashamed. Still, his heart quickened at the thought of spending the night in the same bed as his beloved Heracles...Maybe he could even gather the courage to tell him how he felt!

He smiled gently.

"Of course, Heracres-san, I understand, that's arright."

"Thank you..." The Greek leant forward a little, green eyes trained on Kiku, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Kiku...when I asked...what did you think I meant...?

Kiku's face once again burnt red as he got up and murmured something about his room being this way, but he did feel relieved that Heracles was at least smiling again. Letting him cry and comforting him had obviously made him feel a little better.

After switching on th bedside lamp, digging out another pillow and placing it on his bed, he left Heracles in his room for a moment while he went to find Hitomi. He thought that maybe the Greek would feel a little more comfortable with a feline near him. He went into the kitchen and switched the light on to find Hitomi frozen in the act of raiding the rice cupboard. She was half in, half out of a bag of basmati rice, but luckily she hadn't spilled any. He went to her and picked her up, softly berating her and shutting the cupboard. Her innocent eyes bored into his as he carried her upstairs. When he reached his half-open door, he was greeted with the sight of Heracles in only his short-sleeved shirt and boxers, showing his toned arms and legs off perfectly as he admired the oriental pictures on the bedroom wall. Kiku was left, frankly, breathless.

The Greek turned to him and gave a small, lazy smile.

"Kiku...did you really mean what you said...? About helping me find her? I know that our chances of actually finding her in this massive town really are quite slim..."

The Japanese man went over to the far side of the bed, put Hitomi on his pillow and pulled back the covers.

"We' rr find her, don't worry. As long as we search thoroughry and cover arr the ground we can, then we have a good chance of finding her." _'That's if something terrible hasn't happened to her.'_ But he didn't voice this thought as he climbed into bed. Heracles still looked fragile, and he didn't want to make him cry again.

However, he now had a more immediate problem to attend to. That was trying to absorb the fact that he was to spend a night,_ a whole night,_ in the same bed as Heracles. He wanted the Greek to hold him tight and wanted to crawl to the edge of the bed, as far away from him as possible, at exactly the same time.

He opted for the latter, putting Hitomi between the pillows as a sort of barrier, and turned to face the wall, lying stiffly on his side. He heard a rustle of sheets and the creak of the wooden frame of the bed as Heracles' large form climbed in. Kiku was relieved that Heracles kept to his own side, and did not try to move closer; he didn't think he would have been able to handle that. Hitomi moved over to the bottom of the bed and curled up by Heracles' feet. Kiku reached up to turn the lamp off so it was pitch black then settled back into his sideways position, heart thumping. _'Be quiet,'_ he told it sternly. _'He'll hear you...'_

"Kiku?" Heracles' soft voice broke the mahogany silence. "Thank you so much for letting me stay, and for being so nice to me...Have sweet dreams."

For some reason the Japanese man found this phrase endearing coming from him, and it made him relax slightly. He allowed himself a small smile in the darkness and, when he spoke, allowed just the littlest, _tiniest_ amount of love to show in his voice.

"...You too, Heracres-san. Goodnight."

Silence followed, filled with the sound of gentle, regular breathing from both men. Kiku knew he wouldn't sleep, at least not for a good long while. He was still trying to get over the fact that they were sleeping in the same bed. The Greek's mere presence put him on edge and he couldn't take his mind off him. '_Hush now Kiku...this is fine, this is all fine. After all, the Italy brothers sleep together all the time...' _

Yes, and look how they turned out, an inner voice muttered treacherously. He gave himself yet another mental shake. He had slept in the same bed as the other Axis members hundreds of times. This was no different.

Except it was.

His thoughts were interrupted as Heracles gave a contented sigh, turned over and wrapped his arms around the small, thoroughly surprised Japanese man. Kiku squeaked as he was pulled back close to the Greek's chest, flush against his body.

"H-H-Heracres-san, w-what are you...d-d-doi-"

"Once," Heracles' slow voice interrupted suddenly. "There was a Greek king called Peleus. He fell in love with a very beautiful sea-nymph. Her name was Thetis. Despite him being a hero among mortals, Thetis refused to marry the king, even though he loved her desperately. But Peleus had a friend who had once been his tutor, a centaur, Chiron."

"...Heracres-san...what are you saying now...?" Kiku tried to pull away, but iron arms kept him in place and try as he might, he could not wriggle out of them, lithe as he was.

"Heracres-san, prease, I don't understa-"

"All centaurs are wise, for they live to a very great age, but Chiron was wisest of all, since he was immortal...so he told Peleus to dig a hole on the beach, and hide in it with a bunch of seaweed over his head. He said that Peleus was to wait until the sea-nymphs came out of the sea, then leap out and catch Thetis, holding on to her no matter what shape she morphed into..."

At these mumbled words, he squeezed Kiku tighter against him and breathed softly against the back of his neck, and it was at that moment that Kiku realised that Heracles was asleep. Fast asleep. And talking in his sleep.

"So Peleus did as Chiron advised, and hid himself under the sand. Thetis soon emerged from the waves along with the other sea-nymphs, or Nereids. They began to play ball on the shore, and Peleus waited until the sea-nymph he desired was near him, then he leapt out of his hiding place and caught hold of her. As the other Nereids fled, Thetis transformed into a large, hissing snake, but Peleus never loosened his grip. Then she became a savage lion, then a tiny bird. After that, a flame of fire, then a spring of water, and then a tall tree. Still Peleus held on. In a last desperate attempt at escape, she became a slippery cuttle-fish, but he did not let go. That was her last disguise, so she turned back to her own beautiful form. He begged her to marry him, and she would have refused, as he was a mere mortal and she immortal, but Zeus, king of the Immortals, had been watching, and he sent his son, the messenger Hermes, who said, "Fair Thetis, it is the will of Father Zeus that you should marry this mortal. Zeus himself and the other immortals shall attend your wedding feast. He promises that you shall have a son named Achilles, who shall be the most famous of the Heroes to fight at Troy..."

By now, Kiku had stopped struggling and relaxed, knowing that he could not escape Heracles' grip, just like Thetis the sea-nymph could not escape Peleus. As Heracles trailed off again, the Japanese man gave a smile and murmered, "Goodnight Heracres-san..."

He lay awake most of the night as Heracles, still asleep, told him the tales of the Greeks and the Trojans, of the Apple of Discord and Helen of Sparta, of Achilles' heel and of the death of Hector. He whispered stories of Paris, and how his death came about, of the wooden horse, and the great fall of Troy. He went on to mention Orestes and the Furies, and the great hero Odysseus, and his many adventures.

And, after many hours of lying awake, and with tiredness causing his eyes to close slowly, Kiku heard how Odysseus died, killed by his son, and went to the beautiful, golden Elysian fields beyond the world's end, directly before Kiku fell asleep, encased in Heracles' arms...

**It's taken me a whole week to write this due to a rather unnecessary amount of homework. I haven't had any reviews yet, and I'd really like to know how my writing is, so...please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**(sorry this has taken so long) Many thanks to Shiralala and ForeverAHetalian for being the first to review this story! My fellow Hetalians, I am eternally grateful! **

...That warm, fuzzy feeling just before waking up. Like floating on air and tasting soft, silky clouds. Punctuated, Kiku thought, by the odd, unusual sensation of being safe...as if nothing could hurt him.

For the first time in a long, long while, he felt completely secure...

Despite the fact that his eyelids protested, his brown eyes opened and blinked a few times, getting rid of the sleeping dust. He tried to focus on what was in front of him, and as the blurriness cleared, he saw, and gave a start.

For he found his face mere inches away from the well defined, lightly tanned neck of Heracles, who also happened to have his arms locked around the slight Japanese man, their bodies pressed flush against each other.

"_Okay...ah, I remember...last night...although I was facing the other way..." _Now Kiku's memory really kicked in and he remembered being told stories by the slumbering Greek...and how, when he had mentioned Peleus holding onto Thetis the sea-nymph, he had squeezed Kiku tighter against him...

Heracles shifted, still asleep,forcing Kiku's nose into the crook of his neck. Kiku flushed, still slightly sleepy, inhaling the scent of sweat, cats and comfort from Heracles' skin. After a moment, he he heard the Greek mumble something, then shift again. He then slowly raised his tousled brown head, and murmured,

"...Kiku?...You're...here...in my arms, that's...good."

"_He must still be half-asleep,"_ thought Kiku as he carefully ignored the Greek's nearly (but not quite) unintelligible words.

He moved his head upwards on the pillow, and now he was gazing into a pair of large, intense green eyes. Make that two pairs, for Hitomi had decided that her place of rest would be Heracles' head. Both sets of emeralds stared solemnly at Kiku, Heracles' still glazed over with dreams and sleep. Suddenly, they cleared as he truly woke up, and a light flush appeared on his cheeks. He pulled slightly away from the Japanese man, although still leaving his arms resting on him,and stammered,

"K-Kiku! Good mornin-" His speech was cut off by a yawn. Kiku, unable to help it, gave a chuckle.

"You rearry needed that sreep, didn't you?"

"I...suppose I did. T-thank you for allowing me to stay..."

They looked at each other confusedly for a moment, their faces still slightly too close for comfort, and then Heracles went to move his hands off Kiku.

Unfortunately, when he had moved away from the other man, he had been rather close to the edge of the bed. He slid off, desperately grabbing Kiku in his panic.

They toppled off the bed, blankets and all, and rolled across the floor until they hit the far wall. They were now cocooned inside the tangled up sheets, and once again ended up body pressed against body.

Face pressed against face.

**Oh god, this chapter's really short, sorry. I just really wanted to update because I haven't for ages. I promise I'll knuckle down and write something better fast. I won't ask for reviews, because there really is no point reviewing this pathetic excuse for a chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I've worked out that it's better to do short (but not too short) chapters because it means I can update quicker. So that's what I'll be doing from now on...**

**Enjoy!**

_'This is getting stupid...'_

Something, Kiku thought, had gone drastically wrong in his life. He reasoned that it must have started with his alarm clock going off late yesterday and escalated from there. A crying Greek turned up at his doorstep (and honestly Kiku had never expected to see any emotion other than tiredness from him), he had agreed to looking for a _very _ lost cat, had ended up in bed with his crush, who, whilst asleep had told him stories like a little child, and now was pressed up against the aforementioned crush and they were practically mummified in sheets with their faces pressed nose to nose and he could feel Heracles' breath on his cheek _and that darned cat had just jumped on his head with all her claws out..._

_'Maybe one of the Magic Trio has cursed me...'_

He and Heracles thrashed about for a bit, trying desperately to untangle themselves from the twisted sheets whilst also trying to avoid a pussycat who had decided that they were a giant cat toy. Whilst trying to avoid accidentally kissing.

_'This just isn't fair...'_

Eventually they managed to get free, and they both knelt, panting and trying to regain their dignity.

Something that was quite difficult as, in their struggle, the smaller man's t-shirt had ridden up, showing his pale, fine-boned torso.

The Greek's pupils dilated and Kiku looked down. He blushed furiously and let out a little (adorable) squeak, pulling the t-shirt down.

"R-r-right, Heracres-san," he said firmly, standing up and trying to make the situation less awkward.

"W-w-would you rike some breakfast?"

Heracles was still staring at the Japanese man's chest, and Kiku cleared his throat.

"Wha...Oh! O-oh, um, yes please Kiku, that would be nice...thank you."

"Right, okay, that's fine then...I-I'rr go make it..."

Twenty minutes later, Kiku had miso soup on the table at his place, and at the place he laid for Heracles, he had placed bread, butter, honey and hot milk (which he definitely had not just googled to see what a traditional Greek breakfast was).

He went back to the bedroom to find a now fully dressed Greek, and directed him to the kitchen. After the Greek went, he remained in the bedroom to get dressed himself. He then went back to the kitchen. When he arrived he saw Heracles sitting at his end of the table, his food untouched. Kiku was pleased to see that the man looked a little less forlorn than last night, and now almost had his customary lazy expression back. Almost.

He smiled warmly.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know. You could started without me..."_ 'Come on Kiku, you know that if it had been anyone else you would have scolded them for starting without you...'_

Kiku smiled inwardly. Well, being in love means making allowances...

They ate their breakfast in silence. When they'd finished, Heracles glanced hesitantly up at the dark haired male opposite him.

"Thank you for that. It was delicious. And for making my country's food...that's...touching." He said the last bit in hushed tones.

Kiku flushed, but remembered the actual reason that the Greek was there in the first place, and tried to focus. He folded his hands together and leant his chin on them.

"So, Heracres-san. Do you have any idea at arr where this cat of yours could be? Any rikery places?

"No..." Heracles looked teary again, so Kiku quickly tried to think of something to say that wouldn't make his companion begin to cry.

"H-hey, Heracres-san, you never tord me her name...What did you carr her?"

Heracles looked down, embarrassment and confusion on his face.

"I-I called her...Kiko."

**You like?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay! I absolutely WILL get this story finished by the end of the Easter holidays...**

"I-I called her...Kiko."

Kiku seriously thought that his heart stopped for a fraction of a second. _'B-but that...sounds like my name...Could he have...'_

_'No, don't be stupid...'_

He gave a gentle smile.

" Ah, yes, that is a rovery Japanese name...A variant of 'Keiko' which means "be grad, rejoicing chird..."

Heracles looked at him, and the Greek's facial expression was one of daring.

"Actually...,"he said boldly, his cheeks pink. "...I-I named her that because it reminded me of your name! A-And, she looks like you1 She's got black fur and brown eyes and she's small and very quiet..."

_'He said it!'_

"W-werr...Thank you. It is indeed an honour to have one of your beautifur ferines named after me..."

And the Greek smiled. And the room lit up.

Seeing that smile made Kiku remember how Heracles had been crying the night before. It strengthened his resolve to find that cat if it killed him...maybe, if he found her, he'd be Heracles'...What was that word the annoying one used again...?

Hero.

Heracles went to the bathroom to wash his face and attempt to force his hair into some kind of order (an endeavour that usually failed because a) his hair didn't work that way and b) he didn't try very hard). By the time he got back, Kiku was standing by the front door, bag in hand.

"I made us some runch-boxes and water bottres, so we can rook for her arr day if you rike without needing to come back for food..."

"That sounds lovely. Thank you." The pair stepped out of the door.

And so it began.

They searched methodically through every street within a two mile radius. They scoured every boulevard and hunted through every bin. They asked around every house they could find, but still, no one had seen the troublesome feline. At midday they sat down on a bench to have their food (meatballs and rice for Kiku, dried fish, cheese, figs and olives for Heracles) whilst gazing at the passers-by.

They were both exhausted. The Japanese man cast a sneaky glance at his companion. His heart sunk as he saw how miserable Heracles looked. Kiku forced a smile on his face, stood up, and, in a moment of extreme bravery, took Heracles' hands in his own.

"Don't worry, Heracres-san," he said seriously. "We have the rest of the day, and if we don't find her, we can arways rook again tomorrow, okay?"

Heracles stared at him, then the contact between their fingers.

"Okay."

And again, they set off.

With someone watching their every move from the shadows.

**Durn, Durn, DURN! Dramatic clichéd cliff-hanger ending! Who is this mysterious stalker?**

**Will they ever find that bloody cat? Find out next time on...No, that's stupid. Ignore me.**

**Review? Pretty please?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here you go! Enjoy!**

They hunted for the missing cat for hours, widening their search. Many times Heracles was on the point of giving her up for lost. But Kiku refused to give up, now absolutely determined to find Kiko no matter what, if only to see his love smile properly again.

But at the same time, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them, and once or twice he thought he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. As the sky was rapidly darkening, he stopped.

"Heracres-san...do you...get the feering that someone is forrowing us...?" The Greek turned his head sharply, his green eyes wide.

"Yes, I've thought that for a while..." Both men looked tried to look nonchalant, as if they were both just having a perfectly normal conversation. Kiku leant against a crumbling wall, and Heracles stuck his hands in his pockets, his usual lazy look back on his face.

"Maybe...if we ignore it...he, or she, might just...go away?" the Japanese man whispered hopefully.

Heracles considered this.

"...I think that would probably be the best course of action. Besides..." he reached out lazily and put one hand on Kiku's shoulder, hesitating for only a second. "...if anyone got brave enough to attack us, I'd protect you."

Kiku blushed, but he didn't push the other man's hand away.

"I-I am perfectry capabre of fighting for myself, Heracres-san, arigatou," he stammered indignantly, looking at his feet.

Heracles tipped his head on one side and rose his hand to Kiku's face, ghosting his cheek.

"Oh...but you're so fragile..."

At this, Kiku reached breaking point, pushed the Greek's hand away, quickly started walking, and muttered,

"R-Ret's just keep rooking..."

He heard Heracles walking behind him.

"_What was all that about? Why does he keep...touching me?! Usually he respects my personal space, but since he arrived last night, he's been so...touchy-feely. It's so unlike him...Maybe...maybe he feels the same way that I do about him...? Maybe he..l-loves me? No, impossible! But he called me fragile...yes, but I'm not, I can fight just as well as he can. But somehow, now, I want to be fragile...for him to protect me with those amazing muscle-Oh, for Heaven's sake!"_

He was snapped out of his mental battle by Heracles putting out an arm to hold him back and speaking quietly.

"Our stalker is still here."

It was fast approaching 9 pm now, and the weather had been hot. The two men were tired, and nowhere near Kiku's house. They were standing halfway down a badly-lit alleyway, and indeed, amongst the shadows was a darker, more threatening one.

Everyone knew how difficult it was for Kiku to get angry. Indeed, most of the countries could quite easily recall the time when he and Heracles had spent the best part of a day trying to feel angry about something. However, now, a combination of mental frustration and tiredness caused the Japanese man to snap, and he turned to the shadow and yelled,

"Show yourserf! Come out now or...or...or erse!"

So the shadow did.

**Ending it there because the next bit is kind of long, and I don't want to squash it all into one chapter. I'm in writing mode now though, so the next update should be up pretty soon.  
As ever, review! **


	8. Chapter 8

"Show yourserf! Come out or...or...or erse!"

So the shadow did.

The two men barely had time to react when a small, dark shape launched itself out of the darkness, flew through the air, and landed slap-bang on Heracles' face.

Kiku let out an incoherent shout of surprise as the Greek man stumbled blindly back, the shape still clinging to his head as he attempted to pry it off. In a panic, Kiku rushed to Heracles, to try to help him, but just stood helplessly as his friend cried out in pain.

Heracles had managed to make his way (backwards, with still no idea what was happening) right to the end of the alley, and Kiku was stood right in front of him, half trying to give his companion some aid, half trying to make out _what on earth _was on the other man's face. He heard a wail from the Greek, so he launched himself forward to grab at the 'shadow' with both hands.

And he tripped.

He smashed into Heracles, and they both fell backwards, out of the alleyway and into the street. It seemed as if time momentarily slowed down, the 'shadow' leaping off Heracles' face and into the night. Kiku's face was in Heracles' chest (_again_) and they both had utterly shocked expressions on their face. Kiku shut his eyes, waiting for impact...

_'Why does this arways happen to me?'_

Then they hit something with a horrible squelching noise, bounced off, landed and rolled to a halt.

Silence.

Kiku opened his eyes, sat up, and looked around. His eyes met those of four shocked faces. He slid his gaze from green to amber, to green, to jade. Then he saw an overturned wheelbarrow, which he and the Greek had hit during their fall. It seemed to be dripping with something, so he looked closer.

Oh.

Ah.

It was full of squashed tomatoes.

More silence.

Then the world went crazy.

"What-a the hell? Y-You...Those were-a fresh out of the ground this-a morning! I am-a going to kill you barstados!"

"Godverdomme..."

"Seriously mis amigos, why weren't you more careful?!

"Mijn broer and I spent ages picking those!"

Heracles stood up amongst the onslaught of Italian and Dutch, his arms full of unhurt tomatoes which he had somehow grabbed whilst they were falling. He opened his mouth to say something, reached towards the Spaniard to give him the perfect fruit as some form of consolation, but then...

He saw something and his eyes gleamed. He grabbed Kiku's hand and pulled him behind him as he started running in the opposite direction. Kiku had no idea what was going on, but as his friend seemed pretty determined, and he could hear angry shouts behind them, he thought it best to start running.

They ran through the streets with, Kiku thought, no apparent sense of direction. Antonio, Lovino, Lars and Bella were all hot on their heels, believing that the pair were trying to steal what remained of the tomatoes. They ran for approximately way too long (in Kiku's opinion) , and had arrived at an unfamiliar part of town, before Heracles pulled him into an alley and behind a couple of bins.

They knelt there, panting heavily, until the Italian curses faded into the distance. Then Kiku turned to the Greek, confusion on his face.

"W...What the...herr was arr...that about?"

Heracles ignored his question, sitting cross-legged and staring into the distance, trying to regulate his breathing. He looked thoughtful.

"Sadiq always told me not to mess with the Tomato Gang...I should have listened to him, huh..."

"Werr we courd have saved the situation somewhat...Why did you run off rike that...?"

Heracles turned to him, eyes shining in the dark.

"Kiku...That was her."

**Review **


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the wait! Yes, I did say that I would get it finished by the end of the Easter holidays, and indeed, I will. Today.**

"Kiku...That was her."

Kiku looked at Heracles as if he had finally lost it.

"...What was who?"

"Her! It was her! The thing that landed on my face! I'd know that smell anywhere! It was Kiko!"

A dull silence ensued.

_' We've been looking for that cat all day long...and she was following us the whole time?...I half want to laugh, half want to strangle something...Goodness, I love Heracles-san so much...Only he could occupy my time like this!'_

He went with the former. Kiku burst out into a bout of musical, slightly insane laughter. Heracles sat and watched him patiently until the giggles died down. The Japanese man forced a look of calm on his face.

"A-Ahem...So where is she now, Heracres-san?" The Greek sighed.

"I don't know, Kiku...I think we lost her when we were running from the Tomato psychos..." He looked thoroughly disheartened.

"Did she hurt you?" Kiku tried not to sound too concerned.

"No...Her claws went into my hair, so I didn't get scratched...But how will we find her again?"

The Japanese man stepped out of the alley they were in and looked around the unfamiliar street. He stood there for a minute, trying to work out which way was home, when suddenly, he froze.

"Heracres-san...Come out here a minute..."

The Greek joined him, and then he froze too.

"Kiku..."

"I know, right?"

"It's that feeling...of being watched again. So that must be her!"

"We don't know that, Heracres-sa-"

"There!" Kiku whipped his head around in the direction that the Greek was pointing and saw, lit up by a nearby lamp, an adorable little black cat, sitting serenely and staring at them with big brown eyes. Heracles took a step towards her, and she shot off into the dark.

For the second time that night, Kiku felt his hand taken by Heracles' and he was yanked along as they ran after the cat. And all he could think as he was dragged along was how strange it was that the feeling of being watched had come from a completely different direction from where the cat had been sitting... Almost as if they had a second stalker...But that thought was soon pushed to the back of his mind as they chased after the elusive feline.

They (again) ran for longer than strictly necessary until Heracles slowed down, and came to a panting halt on a very well-to-do looking street. He pointed at a large building opposite.

"Sh...She went towards that hou-"

Heracles swore.

"H...Heracres-san, what's wrong?"

Heracles flung his arm out and pointed again, but his movements had lost their energy (well, the amount of energy that he usually had, which, to be fair, wasn't all that much).

And Kiku saw why.

For there, inside a large window in the middle of the front of the house, sat Kiko, looking at them with an innocent _(Hah!) _expression.

Heracles had slumped to a kneeling position as he stared in disbelief at the sweet little cat.

"H-How did she get in there?"

Kiku put his hand on his companions shoulder.

"There was probabry a gap in the basement that she wriggred through. Cats are...so smarr and rithe you know..."

Heracles' head hung down in defeat.

"How on earth...," he whispered. "...are we going to get her back?" His voice sounded dangerously wobbly, so Kiku knelt down next to him.

_'..Well go on! Cheer him up somehow! You love him don't you? Say something to make him feel better!'_

"Heracres-san...," Kiku murmured. "I...I promised we'd get her back, didn't I? I wourdn't break a promise to you...You know that, right?"

He moved closer to Heracles' lowered head, feeling the heat in his cheeks rising.

"...After arr, you are very dear to me. Very, very dear. You are the onry one who...understands me, you know?"

_'Keep going, Kiku, say it!'_

He put his hand out to touch the Greek's shoulder gently.

"I-I wourd do anything for you, Heracres-san, I mean it..."

_'Aaaand...?'_

"A-And actually...I-I..." He took a deep breath. "I lov-"

"Break in!" Heracles yelled, his head shooting up. Kiku was completely thrown.

"W-What?"

"I've thought about it," said the Greek thoughtfully. "And I think the only way we can get her is to break into the house. So we'll do that, okay?" He looked at Kiku with his old lazy cheerfulness back on his face.

"Wha...What? No! We can't just casuarry break into someone's house!" Kiku was appalled.

"But Francis does it to people all the time!"

"But Francis has issues!"

It was twenty minutes later. They had found the outdoor entrance to the basement, and indeed, there was a small, cat-sized hole in it. Heracles was fiddling around with it, trying to get it open, whilst Kiku stood beside him, freaking out about what they were about to do.

_' I cannot believe I agreed to this. We are going to break into someone's house. At 11:06 pm. We are actually going to break into a total stranger's house. They could have weapons. They could be a psychopath. How would we explain this to the police? I know we're country representations, so we could get away with it, but still..._

_I wonder...'_

"Got it!" Heracles stage-whispered triumphantly. He pulled open the basement door and went to step through. Kiku pulled him back by his arm.

"Heracres-san...Did you hear what I said earier, about you and me...When you were on the ground...?" Heracles looked back at him with mild confusion in his eyes.

"Ah...No sorry. I was thinking about what to do. What did you say?"

"...Never mind. It was nothing important. Here," He passed Heracles a torch to cover his disappointment.

" Now, ret's find that cat."

**The final chapter should be up by the end of the day!**


	10. Chapter 10

**As promised!**

"...Are you sure this is the way out?" Kiku whispered, shining his torch-light on an old, peeling, half-open, once-white door.

"Well, all the others were broomcupboards, so hopefully..." Heracles trailed off, giving the door a gentle push. It opened fully, revealing a set of steps leading upwards.

"Yes!"

"Heracres-san, prease try to stay quiet..." Kiku admonished gently. His heart was still smarting from his failed confession, but he wouldn't,_ couldn't,_ blame Heracles for it. After all, it's not like he'd heard and ignored it...He just...hadn't heard it.

_'Besides which, it allows me to go on thinking that I might have a chance for a little longer, right? For just a while more, I might be able to convince myself that I won't get horribly rejected, and break this wonderful bond we have as friends, and cause awkwardness...Maybe it was a good thing he didn't hear how much I adore him..."_

"Kiku? You coming?" Kiku pulled himself from his thoughts and looked up at Heracles, who was standing at the top of the steps gazing down at him. As Kiku's light shone on Heracles, making his hair and eyes sparkle, and his skin glow, Kiku could only think one thing.

_'...He looks like a god...'_

He joined Heracles at the top of the steps and took a look at their surroundings. Quite a...quaint place really. Tastefully decorated, lots of books and beautiful, carved furniture. Old paintings and tapestries adorned the walls, giving the house a regal look.

That thought again. The feeling of being watched. '_Probably the cat, looking at us from the shadows again...Ahh, but it's somehow different...I'm going to label it Stalker number two until further notice...'_

"Probably the residence of an elderly person, you think?" murmured Heracles. "...That's good actually, it means they'll be a deep sleeper."

_'Ah yes, in the depths of my unrequited love and stalker paranoia, I'd forgotten that we were in the middle of committing a crime...'_

"Right," said the Japanese man, taking charge. "We seem to be in some sort of harrway, and we saw Kiko through a rarge window at the front of the house...I think it's safe to assume that that was the riving room...And we entered the basement from this angre...So that means tha-What?"

Heracles was tugging gently on Kiku's sleeve. He nodded to where his torch was pointing. Kiku looked at a beautiful polished walnut staircase. And Kiko sitting right in the middle of it. The smaller man had a strange sense of dejavu as he watched the cat blink at the light with big, innocent eyes.

Heracles started murmuring to the cat softly in Greek, edging closer and holding out his hands. The cat observed him for a minute, and seemed like she was about to move towards him, but then her head turned sharply towards the shadows at the top of the stairs.

"Nononono..." The cat padded upwards.

"Come on!" Heracles whispered, determinaton in his voice. They both edged up the stairs, which stayed mercifully silent. Whoever owned this place kept it in very good condition, for which they were both thankful.

They reached a red-carpeted landing and shone their torches about, trying to catch a glimpse of anything remotely feline.

"There she is..."

They padded down the corridor towards Kiko, who had her back to them. She herself was tiptoeing cautiously towards a...ladder. She looked up at it, and then gave a soft purr.

They stared at her in disbelief.

"Of course, the cat would see a radder, wourdn't she...Ooh, I wonder what she's going to-And she goes up it. Of course she does."

Kiku felt like crying.

"Well...we've come this far r-right? We-we'll both follow her...right?" Kiku turned to Heracles' suddenly worried face. He saw, in those green eyes, doubt. And...vulnerability.

_'He...He thinks that I won't go with him...He seriously thinks that I'll...leave him go by himse-YOU IDIOT IF YOU'D BEEN LISTENING EARLIER YOU'D KNOW THAT I WOULD FOLLOW YOU INTO THE DEPTHS OF HELL AND I REALLY HAVE NO CHOICE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU...'_

He took Heracles' hand. He squeezed it. He sighed.

"Come on..."

"Ouch! Kiku, that was my head!"

"Werr I'm sorry! Who's idea was it to hord both the torches? Now I can't see what I'm doing and I'm riterarry frairing about in the dark!

"Well when you get to the top, I can pass them both to you! Otherwise one of us might drop them and wake the owner of this place!"

"So your brain can do that kind of thinking, but not risten when someone is terring you something very important to them that could affect the friendship between you?!"

"What?"

"Never mind..."

Somehow they both managed to the top without causing a colossal racket. Kiku pulled Heracles through the gap with a torch between his teeth, helped him to his feet, then surveyed the attic.

"Ah..."

For at the far end, there sat Kiko...and Kiku's very own cat, Hitomi. Kiku let out a shout.

"Starker number tw-mmph!"

"Shh!" Heracles' hand clamped over Kiku's mouth and he looked at him meaningfully. He carefully removed his hand and whispered.

"Stalker number two? And what's your cat doing here? Isn't that the one I gave to you?"

"Yes, I had the feering that we were stirr being watched, even after we discovered Kiko...It seems that Hitomi forrowed us when we started out to rook for your cat..."

The two men stared at the two cats for a moment.

"Well then, I guess we'd better get our respective cats and get out of this place..."

"Yeah..."

Suddenly the two cats moved, shooting past their owners like lightning. Heracles threw out his arms to catch Kiko, and leant out over the ladder. The cats streaked down the ladder, knocking it over, and it fell with an ear-splitting crash. Heracles tripped, and fell forwards, over the gap in the floor.

"Herares!"

Kiku flung himself forward, dropping his own torch, and wrapped his arms around the falling man's torso, hauling him back and crashing to the floor with him. They somehow twisted in the darkness and landed with Kiku in Heracles' lap. They both lay there for a minute, breathing heavily, covered in cold sweat and arms wrapped tightly around each other.

After about ten minutes of recovering from the shock, and after deciding that no one was going to come and discover them (after all that noise it was an absolute miracle), Heracles moved his hand across the floor and picked Kiku's fallen torch. He aimed it down the gap in the floor, which they were sitting about a metre away from, to see, in the shaky light, the two cats, who had now settled, cuddled together by the fallen ladder.

"So Kiku..." Heracles murmured in his ear. "It's...12:35 in the morning, we are stuck in an attic in the house of a stranger which we broke into, with a torch which seems to be nearing death since you dropped it, and no hope of escape without being discovered, our pets are asleep below us and it's freezing up here and you used my name without an honourific."

The torch died. Kiku stuttered into the dark.

"I-I'm terribry sorry, I didn't m-mea-"

"Hush now," Heracles whispered. "Kiku...You said something earlier...Something which I didn't listen to...But I know it was important. Tell me."

"I-It didn't matte-"

"Tell me...Please...Because I think there was something in it that was...very important. And if I didn't hear it, to be sure...then..."

_'What the hell. Go on. Tell him. It's dark and you're both tired. You can do anything in this pitch-dark and wrapped safely in his arms like this. You could fly. Go on.'_

"Earrier...I said that I'd do anything for you. That you're my dearest...dearest friend...You're the onry one that understands me...and...and...

...I rove you."

"...That's what I thought you said. ….Kiku...will you...be mine?"

Kiku stiffened in the Greek's arms.

"R-Rearry? I thought you'd rejec-"

"But I love you, why would I do that?" Heracles blurted, confused, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Kiku's heart soared with joy at those words. His darling, his beloved Heracles...loved him back!

It felt...He knew it was a cliché, but it truly felt...like dream. He wasted no more time, put his arms around Heracles' neck, and crashed his lips into his. Heracles didn't hesitate in pulling Kiku closer, and softly, passionatley, kissing him back. After a while, they parted, and rested their foreheads against each other.

"Yes..." Kiku panted, in a daze. "I...I'rr be yours, Heracres..."

And he was pulled into another kiss, feeling Heracles smile against his lips.

They kissed and cuddled, and whispered sweet nothings into eachother's ears. After a while, they were both nearly asleep, when Kiku spoke up.

"Why are we here, Heracres...I mean, this is the stupidest situation. We're in a random person's attic and we can't get out, we're reraxed even though there's going to be herr to pay in the morning, we spent rast night together too, and our pets are sreeping downstairs from us, and you're hording me rike Pereus held Thetis, and we're together...Why? Arr of this...Why?"

And Heracles planted a gentle kiss on his cheek and whispered,

"Because cats, my darling...Because cats."

**Ahh, happy ending. But wait, what is this? E-pi-logue!**


	11. Epilogue

Arthur Kirkland stirred from his sleep, hearing a noise. He got up, fumbling with the light switch and going out into the corridor. Damn it, he'd have to ask his boyfriend to be gentler next time...

_'Yes, but you've thought that every night for all the eighteen months you've been together...You like it, you know you do...'_

He gave a smile, and padded down the hallway towards the source of the noise.

Which turned out to be purring.

Which turned out to be from two cats lying next to to the attic ladder.

"Hello there, little ones. How did you get in...?" He heard another noise, a deeper purring sound, coming from above.

Arthur put the ladder against the gap in the ceiling and climbed up it, shining his pocket torch into the dark.

What he saw made him rub his eyes. Two figures, curled up together, arms around each other...

_'Well, we all knew they'd get together in the end, but,dash it, what are they doing here...?"_

"Hey, Artie, babe, what's up? Is there something wrong up there?" called a drowsy voice from the bedroom.

"...It's nothing, Afred, I'll be down now."

The Englishman smiled.

Questions would have to be answered in the morning.

But for now, he'd leave them sleep.

He went down the ladder, shutting the attic door behind him.

**Finit! For the very last time...Review!**


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